Idiot
Levi's POV:
After grabbing dinner from the kitchen, I decided to spend the rest of the night catching up on a few reports. I figured Uma could be trusted to handle herself, despite how she was acting this morning. She never did tell me what the hell was the matter. I doubted she would, though. She wasn't the type.
Running a tired hand through my hair, I dipped my pen in the inkwell next to me and began filling out the first thing I grabbed from my desk drawer. Halfway through the report, I heard three loud pops from within the building. Gunshots... having lived in the Underground, it was a noise I was very familiar with. As disturbing as someone firing shots in HQ was, one thought hit me like a punch in the gut… an intruder wouldn't fire unless someone got in their way and Uma was the only other person here. Dropping my pen and grabbing the gun from the middle desk drawer, I bolted up from my seat, knocking it over, and headed for the door.
Throwing it open, I checked to make sure the hall was clear and then ran in the direction I had heard the gunshots. Reaching the end of the hallway to the women's quarters, I noticed two doors were open, Uma's and the one to the records room. Coming upon Uma's room first, I saw there was a bullet hole in the door jam. You better not be dead, I thought before checking inside her room. Thankfully, I found nothing amiss except a rummaged-though dresser. She must have gone after the bastard after he shot at her. Continuing forwards, I checked the records room next and found Uma, still alive and pressed up against the nearest filing cabinet, gun in hand.
"The fuck's the matter?" I demanded.
"Someone's here- they shot at me," she said, her whisper practically a hiss.
Stepping through the doorway, I carefully made my way over to her as not to be seen by whomever else was there. That's when I noticed a white V-shaped scar marring the skin of her chest. Each arm of the V was at least four inches long and came to a deep point in the center. It looked like someone had tried to cut her fucking heart out.
Seeing where my gaze was, she quickly pulled her hair over the mark to conceal it. For a moment I wondered why she would be embarrassed by a battle wound and then I realized she didn't receive that scar in combat. Idiot, I berated myself, tearing my eyes away from her. The thought of someone giving her that scar made me grit my teeth. The idea was infuriating. Suddenly, I heard the sound of quick and desperate footsteps coming from the far end of the room.
Listening carefully for any more movement, I silently motioned to Uma that I would go first and she was to follow as backup. She nodded, allowing me to pass in front of her as we made our way to the edge of the row of cabinets. Turning out into the aisle, we made our way down the rows of bookcases, checking each as we went. Coming to the far end of the room, I spotted the bastard crouched in an open windowsill, trying to escape. The moment I raised my gun and fired, he jumped. The shot hit him in the leg but it wasn't fatal. The fall wouldn't kill him either; we were only two stories up. Running towards the window, I watched as the intruder executed a perfect landing in the grass below. That alone told me he was trained- most likely military. Before I could fire at him again, four men emerged from the edge of the nearby woods and began shooting at us, forcing Uma and I away from the window.
"Shit!" I growled. "Did you get a look at the bastard's face?"
"No," she shook her head as we both eased our way closer to the window. "I don't think he took anything either."
"Then what the fuck did he…"
Before I could finish my sentence, an angry sounding yell came from outside. I couldn't make out what the man had said but the next thing I knew, I heard another shot ring out. Suddenly, a blinding light sailed towards the window. It was a yellow flair that was heading straight for us.
"Shit!"
Grabbing hold of Uma's wrist, I yanked her up the aisle and around the corner of the filing cabinets at the other end of the room. Uma gasped as she was flung around, seeing the flair arch through the room. Once her body collided with mine, we both threw ourselves to the ground. Hitting the floor, me on top of her, Uma curled her arms over our heads to shield us from what was about to come.
The flair hit the opposite wall causing a loud, blinding explosion. Everything in the room was thrown outwards from the blast, including the two of us. Bits of flaming stone and rubble bounced and skidded over the top of us as we landed about five feet away from where we had hit the floor.
A moment later, I found myself lying next to Uma, my ears ringing and barely able to tell which way was up. Bringing myself to my hands and knees, I remained there, unable to do anything else until my head began to clear. Watching Uma out of the corner of my eye, I noticed she wasn't moving. The longer she lay there motionless, the more worry began to set in. She didn't respond when I reached out and shook her and suddenly I was overcome with a sickening squeeze in my chest. I was about to shake her again, until suddenly she turned her head and opened her eyes, immediately putting me at ease.
"Are you hurt?" I asked, watching Uma as she slowly pushed herself up to a sitting position. Her arms were covered in scrapes and she had some minor scratches on her face, but I couldn't see any major injuries.
"No, I don't think so," she answered. "And you?"
"Fine."
Nodding, Uma forced herself to her feet. She was unsteady and looked like she was about to fall back down, but she somehow managed to find her footing. I could see her gritting her teeth in anger as she gazed across the destroyed records room. It was shitty to admit it, but those bastards really got us.
"We have to go after them," growled Uma, that all-too-familiar spark flashing in her eyes.
"Uma…" I began, knowing this had set something off in her. I felt the same rage rising in myself as well but I couldn't allow that to cloud my judgment. I reached up to grab her before she could do something crazy but she was one step ahead of me, already hauling ass out of the room.
Knowing she was going to need me, I quickly pushed myself to my feet and headed after her. Watching her run in front of me, I could tell she wasn't in the best of shape, but by sheer force of will she managed to keep up a breakneck speed. That didn't so much worry me as much as knowing her anger was the only thing driving her counter attack.
Once we made it outside, there was no sight of the men from before, even the one I had wounded. They had all gotten away alive and probably got exactly what they were looking for.
"You fucking bastards!" Uma screamed at the trees, having nothing else to take her anger out on.
Turning back to the back to HQ, we looked on as flames licked out of the windows of the records room. There was nothing either of us could do but watch it burn from out on the lawn and wait for the MPs or whoever the fuck was responsible for on-base crises to arrive.
"I'm going after them," came Uma's voice from beside me, her anger thinly veiled by a new façade of calm. She seemed pretty decided on the matter.
"No you're not." I told her, casting her a sidelong glance.
I wouldn't allow it, not so much because she was injured, but because of that look in her eyes. Something desperate and feral burned inside them that told me she wasn't thinking clearly.
"I won't take long," she informed me defiantly, before turning and heading for the woods.
"No you won't, because you're not going," I told her, firmly taking hold of her wrist to stop her.
"Why not?" she snapped, immediately shaking me off of her. I could see her breathing becoming heavier as she stared at me with those large eyes. "We were just attacked, Levi!"
"They still have the advantage."
"The same could be said about the Titans. I'm not going to just sit here while they get away with this!" She cried, heading off towards the trees at a run. Wondering what the hell she was doing, I caught up to her and hooked her ankle with my boot, causing her to trip and stumble to her knees. Whipping around, she glared daggers at me, too pissed to see reason. There were angry tears welling in her eyes, which somewhat took me aback. Walking up to her, I took her arm (more gently this time) to help her back up.
"Don't be stupid, Uma. You know better than…"
"JUST FUCK OFF!" She screamed before nailing me in the jaw with her boot and running off into the woods. I just stared after her, shocked at what she had just done.
Her kick didn't hurt me as much as it should have. If her heart were really into it, a move like that would have put me on my ass. She definitely stunned me, though. It seemed like she wanted to get away from me more than anything. Near the end, it wasn't even like she was out for blood anymore. What the fuck had just happened?
TITANTITANTITANTITANTITANTITANTITAN
Erwin and a squad of soldiers arrived on sight fairly quickly to take care of the mess. He had plans to come back early from leave anyway, so he was already in rout. After the fire was put out, the area was sealed off for further investigation. I guess it was lucky HQ was all stone walls, or else the whole place would have gone up. There was still a hell of a mess to clean up, though.
"Where is Uma?" asked Erwin, obviously concerned she wasn't anywhere in sight.
"She needed time alone," I muttered, not bothering to relay him with the details. He seemed to understand somehow and dropped the subject.
Crossing his arms in front of his chest, he fixed his stern eyes on the burnt-out windows of the records room. "Did either of you get a good look at him?"
"No, it was dark and he made a point of concealing himself, but I'm certain he's military."
Erwin turned to look at me then. "What?"
"He didn't have a uniform on, but he moved like a soldier. He's either one of us or he's had military training."
"A spy, then," Erwin concluded. I thought the same thing as well, which was unfortunate for us.
"I shot the bastard in the leg." I told him, having forgotten to disclose that detail.
Erwin nodded, finally hearing some good news. "That will make him relatively easier to find if his comrades haven't killed him for it already."
If these guys were with the military, and by military I mean the MP, the likelihood that our intruder would be left alive after screwing up in the field was slim. Nobody wants a loose end. However, they made sure he got out alive, so maybe they still needed him.
"How is Uma?" Erwin asked, his brow knitting as he came back to the subject.
"Tch, pissed and probably searching for blood." I said, resisting the urge to rub my sore jaw. I didn't want to sound defensive, but Erwin's concern right now was off-putting. It felt like the ball was going to drop at any moment- like he knew something that I didn't.
"She shouldn't be left alone at a time like this," he told me. I could tell he was critical on how I was handling the situation.
"She's tough, she can handle it." I muttered, really not giving a shit anymore. If Uma wanted to act like a lunatic, that was her prerogative. Looking over at Erwin, I could tell he was surprised by my attitude.
"You don't know what day it is, do you?" He asked, fixing me with a look of concern. There was that feeling of foreboding again- that warning sign I kept ignoring all day.
"The sixteenth. So what?"
"It's the anniversary of the Minsk Mina Massacre, Levi." He replied gravely.
When he said it, I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. A wave of realization washed over me and all I wanted to do was lay my fist into the nearest wall. Suddenly, everything made sense.
I began thinking about Uma's behavior all day, from her depression this morning, to her rage upon being attacked and finally, the way she ran from me like her life depended on it. It was so fucking obvious, how had I not figured it out?
As things stood, I could only see two possibilities: either she was coming back or she wasn't. All I knew was, if she did come back, I was done fucking up with her.
AN: REVIEW FAVOR FOLLOW! I'm very excited to release this new chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it and will continue to read more. The next one should be up soon and will be from Uma's POV. Thank you so much to everyone who has been following and reviewing, I never imagined 'Battle Cry' would generate so much interest. I'm very happy I'm writing something that people genuinely like and appreciate. I'm such a huge AoT fan and am glad to be a part of the community! Much love, Miss Scary Kitty